Synopsis
In a dramatic five-hour standoff, South Korean Police clashed with presidential security while attempting to raid the presidential office. This action relates to an investigation into claims that impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol obstructed justice concerning a detention warrant, amidst rising political tension in the nation.Key Takeaways
- Five-hour standoff between police and presidential security.
- Police aimed to raid the presidential office over allegations against Yoon Suk Yeol.
- Acting PSS chief Kim Seong-hoon is under scrutiny.
- Surveillance data is part of the investigation.
- Yoon has faced significant political backlash.
Seoul, April 16 (NationPress) South Korean Police found themselves in a five-hour standoff with officials from presidential security on Wednesday as they tried to conduct a raid on the presidential office. This raid is part of an investigation into claims that impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol hindered the execution of a detention warrant earlier this year.
The police's special investigation unit presented a search warrant aimed at the secure phone server within the presidential office, as well as the Presidential Security Service (PSS) office and residence, all located in the heart of Seoul’s Yongsan district at 10:13 a.m., as per official reports.
However, police had not gained entry to the premises by 3 p.m., as the PSS refused to facilitate the raid.
Acting PSS chief Kim Seong-hoon is accused of obstructing investigators from detaining Yoon at the presidential residence back in January. A Seoul court denied the prosecution's request for arrest warrants for Kim and Lee Kwang-woo, the chief of the PSS’s bodyguard division, according to Yonhap news agency.
Law enforcement officials indicated that the surveillance cameras at the presidential office are also part of the raid concerning insurrection charges against former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min.
On April 14, Yoon Suk Yeol defended himself during his initial criminal trial regarding insurrection charges, asserting that his efforts to impose martial law in December did not constitute insurrection.
Rising from a top prosecutor to the presidency in just three years, Yoon became South Korea’s second president to be formally removed from office. His unexpected martial law proposal stirred national unrest for months and intensified political divisions.
After the ruling, Yoon, aged 64, followed in the path of former President Park Geun-hye, who was ousted in 2017 after the Constitutional Court upheld her impeachment linked to a corruption scandal.
Before his presidency, Yoon started his career as a prosecutor in 1994, eventually leading an investigative team that exposed Park's corruption scandal, resulting in her removal and imprisonment.
In 2019, he was appointed as the nation's top prosecutor under then-President Moon Jae-in, but clashed with the administration while overseeing investigations into family members of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk.
Faced with increasing pressure from Moon’s administration, Yoon resigned in 2021, soon entering politics and winning the presidential election in 2022 as the conservative People Power Party candidate.
Yoon’s presidency was marked by conflict, facing an uncooperative National Assembly dominated by the main opposition Democratic Party (DP). He exercised his presidential veto against 25 bills passed by the National Assembly.
Tensions with the DP peaked in early December as the main opposition introduced motions to impeach the nation’s top auditor and a senior prosecutor. On December 3, Yoon declared martial law, which ultimately led to his downfall.
